The first black chief resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Boston City Hospital, Edelin was convicted in 1975 of manslaughter after performing a legal, elective abortion there.
[2] This followed the legalization of abortion nationwide after the US Supreme Court issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade that year.
[3] Edelin appealed the conviction and was formally acquitted in 1976 in the landmark case by a unanimous vote of the 6-person State Supreme Court.
In 2008, Edelin received the "Maggie" Award, highest honor of the Planned Parenthood Federation, in tribute to their founder, Margaret Sanger.
[1] After earning a bachelor's degree at Columbia College in 1961,[4] Edelin taught math and science at the Stockbridge School for two years.
In 1973, as chief resident, Edelin performed an elective abortion on an unmarried 17-year-old girl who was six months pregnant.
Edelin, who is African American, was prosecuted for manslaughter in 1975 by Assistant District Attorney Newman A. Flanagan.
First, it helped to clarify the definition of "life", and it also shielded doctors from criminal prosecution for performing certain abortions.